Nothing Else Matters
by Alley-Oop
Summary: Sasuke and Sakura are a happily married couple, their first child on the way, when Naruto drops by for a visit. Little does Sasuke know he'll have to put up a fight to keep Sakura by his side, because Naruto is determined to get the love of his life back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Yes, I know it is kinda long at first glance, but it goes fast, I promise. And I do NOT, sadly, own Nauto, or any other characters from this story. (Although I would like to put a fangirl claim on Sasuke...) Enjoy!!

* * *

"Hold on, Dear!" Sakura called from the kitchen as Sasuke opened the door. He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, waiting for Sakura to tell him what it was he had forgotten. Surprisingly, however, Sakura came running up to him, her cherry blossom decorated apron billowing around her. Her cheeks glowed radiantly, making her even more beautiful in the early morning sunlight.

"I love you, Sweetie!" she said as she kissed Sasuke, standing on her tiptoes to reach his face. Sasuke smiled and placed a hand on Sakura's large, pregnant stomach as he kissed her back. However, he was already behind and did not want to be late, so he pulled away from her.

"I'll be home after work," he said softly, moving his hand from her stomach to her cheek. She put her hand over his and pressed her face into its warmth.

"I'd hope so. I'm making your favorite for dinner," she said, looking up at her handsome husband with nothing but love visible in her eyes and expression.

"I will be. That's a promise."

"I love you. Be safe!" Sakura said as Sasuke pulled his hand away and stepped outside.

"Sakura…" Sasuke was completely serious now. "Have you considered getting out of the house lately? You should be spending time out with your friends, not cooped up inside doing chores."

"Why would I do that? It's not so bad being cooped up, and it's perfectly fine as long as I'm cooped up with you." Sakura grinned widely as she placed a hand on her protruding stomach.

Sasuke smiled back. "I'll see you after work then, love." He pulled Sakura close to him, kissed her once on the cheek, once on the lips, and then he was off.

* * *

"Good morning, Mr. Uchiha." Sasuke turned around, curious to know who exactly would use such formality with him before he had even gotten to his office building, to see Naruto standing in front of him.

"Naruto! It's been ages since I've seen you!" Sasuke cried, scooping up his best friend in a hug.

"Nice to see you too, Sasuke," Naruto said.

Seeing Naruto made Sasuke think about how much his own life had changed since they were kids. He used to be so cold and…. vicious, but not anymore. He had changed drastically over the past few years. Now he was happy, genuinely happy. He was still somewhat withdrawn from the world every now and then, but he was by no means as antisocial as he had been in the past. It was almost embarrassing for him to think back on his dark childhood.

Actually, the whole change had taken place after he'd gotten Itachi thrown into prison for all eternity, but he preferred not to reflect on such things. It made his blood boil, and Sasuke knew he had quite a bit of a temper at times.

Sasuke still looked the same though: spiky raven-black hair with bangs that matched his onyx-colored eyes. He was tall and muscular- just the right amount. He wasn't huge like a body-builder, but he definitely wasn't someone you'd want to mess with. He was still smart, too, and sophisticated. He was everything anyone could ever hope to be.

Naruto, too, had changed, though not as much as Sasuke. He was tall and muscular as well, about the same build as Sasuke, but he had toned down from the eyesore of an orange outfit to a neutral brown suit that looked quite nice on him. Sasuke had now changed his usual wardrobe to a black suit with a red undershirt.

"What brings you to the city?" Sasuke asked, suddenly wondering why his old friend would travel to the city from his country estate. Sasuke lived in the Uchiha mansion in the suburbs of the very city he was now at the heart of. Naruto lived miles away, so why the unexpected visit?

"Does there always have to be a reason? Can't I just come to see an old friend?" Naruto retorted coolly. Sasuke frowned slightly.

"No, I suppose not. I was just curious. Either way, it's nice to see you, but you've caught me at a bad time. I'm just going to work. You can come up to my office if you'd like," Sasuke said, checking his silver wristwatch as he opened the door to the towering skyscraper he worked in. His office was on the third floor from the top, so it would give him and Naruto some time to catch up as they ascended on the elevator. That was, if Naruto agreed to come.

"No, I shouldn't distract you from your work," Naruto said, starting to turn away. Sasuke let the door fall closed as he stepped towards Naruto.

"It wouldn't be any trouble. I'm actually early," Sasuke tried to reason. Apparently Naruto was dead-bent on not going to work with Sasuke, though, because he immediately responded with a firm, "No."

"Oh, well… Will you be around later, then?" Sasuke asked, desperately searching for a reason Naruto should stick around. It had been so long since Sasuke had seen any of his friends, he was so busy taking care of Sakura and preparing for the new Uchiha heir.

"Possibly," Naruto answered briefly. He didn't even look at Sasuke as he said this, but at the passing cars.

"Well, would you like to join Sakura and I for dinner?" Sasuke asked hopefully. Surely Naruto would want to stick around for that, at least to see Sakura. Even though Sakura and Sasuke were now married, Sasuke knew that Naruto had never forgiven him for stealing the love of his life and he still had feelings for her as more than a friend.

Naruto visibly perked up. "Sure. 7-ish?" he asked. Sasuke nodded with a quick, "See ya then," and stepped into his office building.

* * *

"Sakura?"

"Honey! Hi! What's the matter? Why are you calling from work? Is something wrong?" Sasuke suddenly felt bad that he had worried Sakura by calling from work. As if she didn't have enough stress already.

"Nothing's wrong," Sasuke heard his wife sigh on the other end of the phone, "I just thought I'd warn you that we're having company over for dinner tonight."

"Really?" Sakura sounded extremely excited. "Who?"

"It's a surprise…" Sasuke decided to leave it at that. It was a surprise. Well, Sakura would be surprised all right.

"Well, how many extra places do I need to set?"

"Only one," Sasuke answered. Then, seeing one of his clients approaching through thin glass that separated his office from the bustle of the rest of the floor, he quickly stated that he had to go. He and Sakura said their loving goodbyes and Sasuke prepared for another long day of work…

* * *

Sasuke opened one of the various side entrances to the mansion, which opened to the kitchen. Sasuke was hoping Sakura wouldn't be cooking just yet. As he opened the door, though, he was hit with a blast of overwhelmingly delicious aromas. It smelled like a feast, which made Sasuke fear that he would bump into Sakura.

Thankfully though, she was out of the kitchen doing something while the food cooked, so Sasuke had some time. Quickly, he scrounged up a large vase and filled it with pink roses and cherry blossoms- Sakura's favorites. He had bought three-dozen roses and a dozen cherry blossoms for her today. He didn't know why, but he had just had an urge to do something- anything- nice for Sakura.

Putting some water in the crystal vase, Sasuke set it right in the middle of the enormous island, where Sakura was bound to see it. Beside it he left a little note that read:

"Love reminds you that nothing else matters." I love you, Sakura, and you're the only thing that matters to me. I'll love you forever and all eternity my little cherry blossom.

Your husband 'til death do we part,

_ Sasuke _

Sasuke remembered Sakura saying something about loving that quote once, so he decided it would be appropriate to put it into his little letter to his wife. It seemed to fit nicely, anyway.

His work finished, Sasuke retreated hastily from the kitchen, not wanting his surprise to be ruined by his presence. He had just made his way up the stairs and turned to go to the master bedroom, having hung his coat on the rack by the front door and put his briefcase into his home office, to clean up, and possibly find out what Sakura was doing, when his wife came running at him. With absolutely no warning, Sakura jumped right into his arms. Sasuke, quite taken aback, caught his wife, stumbling back into the wall.

Sasuke laughed, closing his eyes. How he loved his wife, even for all the crazy things she did. Sasuke opened his eyes again when Sakura kissed him.

"Wow, what's the occasion?" Sasuke asked with a small chuckle as his expecting wife looked up at him with wide, emerald eyes. They captured his gaze and would not let it go. He was stuck, not that he would have wanted to move even if he could have.

"I missed you so much!" Sakura said, hugging Sasuke. Sasuke's smile shrunk, but did not disappear. Sometimes he wished his wife didn't love him so much, so that if anything ever happened to him, it wouldn't affect her so harshly.

"Love, it's only been about eight hours," Sasuke informed her.

"The longest eight hours of my life," Sakura retorted. Sasuke just sighed and grunted as he shifted Sakura's weight so they'd both be more comfortable.

"So, what's for dinner again? It smells delicious," Sasuke said. He knew Sakura had forgotten, and that was his inconspicuous way of reminding her. It surprised him that she hadn't caught on yet.

"Oh, my God! Dinner! Let me down, Dear. I have to go check on the food."

Sasuke obediently put Sakura back onto her nimble feet and she raced quickly away to check on the food. He smiled to himself before turning back to go to the bedroom.

The smell that assaulted Sasuke's nose when he walked through the door of his bedroom was so splendid that he nearly fainted. It smelled faintly of apples and mangoes with an under-scent of peaches and roses; it smelled exactly like Sakura's expensive perfume. God only knew how much he loved that smell.

The next thing he noticed was that the normally white sheets had been changed into black silk ones. Also, there were cherry blossom petals covering everything. Sakura turned out to be quite the interior designer. She was definitely planning something. Sasuke had his ideas, but Sakura was a creative woman- she could be preparing any number of things.

Feeling more light-hearted than he had in a long time, Sasuke walked slowly over to his dresser, enjoying the delicious scent in the air every step of the way. When he finally got to where he needed to be, he picked up his cologne and started to spray it, but stopped. The smells in here would be suffocating if he sprayed this in here too. Quickly, he went into the next room and sprayed his own expensive scent. It wasn't his favorite brand of cologne, but Sakura had picked it out for him, so he took special care to wear it for her.

Sasuke, suddenly very nervous about what his wife's reaction to the roses would be, headed hastily down the marble stairs. He was wary, being sure his stealthy wife wouldn't catch him by surprise like she did earlier, but she never came running.

Oh no… Had he done something wrong? Were the roses a bad idea? Quickly, Sasuke jogged to the kitchen. He pressed his ear hard against the door before doing anything else. What he heard gripped his heart like icy claws. Sobbing… His cherry blossom was crying. His surprise must have upset her.

But Sasuke knew what it was like to be alone when he cried, knew how badly he would want to be comforted if alone, and he would not make Sakura experience that when her husband was right there to help. Besides, he had been the one to cause the tears anyway, so he had to at least try to fix it.

"Sakura?" Sasuke stepped lightly into the kitchen. There he saw his wife, her face buried in her arms, which were resting on the blue granite countertop of the island.

She didn't even look up at him. This made Sasuke feel guilty and filled with rage at the same time. Why would she ignore him? He was only trying to help! Sasuke quickly restrained these thoughts and held a tight rein on them. Now was not the time. Sasuke walked forward and put a warm, comforting hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Sakura hissed through her hysterics. Sasuke immediately removed his hand, but did not move any further away.

"What's the-"?

"You, Sasuke."

Sasuke was more than a little taken aback. He took a faltering step backwards, not sure what to do.

"You're too good for me, Sasuke. I don't deserve you. Look at them!" Sakura pointed directly at the flowers he had gotten without looking up. The note, however, was missing. Sasuke soon noticed that Sakura was clutching it in her other hand. "They're perfect!" she continued. "I didn't even do anything to deserve them! I don't even have a job to help with the bills, and here you are, giving me a mansion and everything I've ever wanted!"

Sasuke smiled and put both of his hands on Sakura's shoulders. He carefully spun her around so that she was crying into his chest. She stiffened, but didn't seem to mind too much.

"Sakura, listen to me. You've got it all wrong. I got those flowers because I have been neglecting you lately. You are my wife, I proposed to _you_ because I love you, and I would never be able to live without you. And, quite frankly, I'd be insulted if you ever had to get a job. We have more than everything we need with just my income. Besides, you're going to be the mother of my child. What more could I possibly ask of you? You have done far too much for me, and I'll never be able to pay you back. You've spoiled me too much lately, so I have to return the favor."

By now Sakura's sobs had turned into small sniffles and her perfect face was smudged with mascara and eyeliner.

"Now, love, go get cleaned up and I'll finish up cooking dinner. When you're done you can set the table and it should be close to seven. No more of this talk about you not being good enough. If you keep saying that, I may just have to kill myself. I can't stand to make you feel guilty." Sasuke spoke of this as he helped to finish prepare the meal. Cooking was actually one of his favorite hobbies, and he was good at it, but Sakura insisted that she should cook after Sasuke got back from a long day at work. Sasuke didn't complain because he knew it made Sakura feel special and helped preoccupy her, but she really was overdoing herself lately. She should be resting and taking care of herself- and their baby- not laboring about all day.

It was at that moment that Sasuke decided it was time to hire a nanny. Sakura couldn't do all of this on her own. She could try, and she could under normal circumstances, but with her pregnancy she just couldn't keep up like she could before.

* * *

Seven finally came upon the Uchiha household as the ridiculously large clock in the Great Room chimed loudly. At exactly 7:01 there came a soft knock on the front door.

Sakura, who had cleaned up quickly and was looking fabulous again, and Sasuke, who still had oven mitts on, rushed to answer the door. Sakura demanded to open the door, despite common propriety, so Sasuke let her.

Naruto seemed surprised, however, when Sakura answered the door. He had obviously expected Sasuke to answer.

"Uh… um… Mrs. Uchiha," Naruto said, tipping the hat he had on towards Sakura. She smiled warmly, making Sasuke jealous that she was not smiling at him. But she was his wife, he told himself, he would see her smile like that hopefully everyday for the rest of his life.

"Please, Mr. Uzumaki, we can drop the formalities. Call me Sakura. We're friends, not business partners," Sakura said, stepping back to open the door so that Naruto could come into their home.

"Good to see you again, Naruto," Sasuke said, extending his hand. Naruto just stared at it for a few moments before Sasuke realized that he still had on an oven mitt. "Oops, my bad." He removed the mitt, tucked it under his other arm, and then shook Naruto's hand.

"Thank you for inviting me," Naruto said, looking around the Uchihas' spectacular home. He was sure he'd never seen anything so wondrous in all his life. It awed him. He had seen it many times before, but it had been such a long time, it seemed, that it completely stupefied him all over again.

"Naruto, can I take your coat for you?" Sakura asked. Naruto looked down at the woman who he had loved his entire life. He still held that love with him now, but she was taken. He was too late. It was painful for him to look upon her now, knowing he could never have her.

"Yes, Sakura, thank you." Naruto shed his leather coat and Sakura hung it up hastily.

"I think Sasuke is just finishing up in the kitchen. You know the way to the dining room, right?" That was strange; Naruto hadn't even noticed that the male Uchiha had left.

"Yeah," Naruto said, but he did not go anywhere. Sakura just left him standing there. What more was there for her to say, after all?

Naruto's mind was full of questions. How badly he wanted to have Sakura as his own. What had happened between the two of them, anyway? Then Naruto remembered: Sasuke Uchiha. He had barged right into their lives and swept Sakura away from him, the rich, arrogant bastard. Naruto, however, was not going to let Sakura go without a fight. There had to be something the Uchiha was lacking in, some weakness that he could use to get Sakura back.

_How about the fact that Sasuke got her knocked up with his heir as soon as he could get his disgusting hands on her? _Naruto thought bitterly. It took him a moment to realize that he was shuddering with rage. The idiot Uchiha had most likely raped Sakura. Or that was what Naruto wanted to believe, but he knew it wasn't true. He didn't even have to think about how eager Sakura would be to carry Sasuke's child to know that he was lying to himself.

Fists clenched, Naruto made his way around some twists and turns, trudged through the Great Room, and found himself in the Dining Room. Great, he was here. So where was the alcohol? Naruto would have killed for a beer.

At that thought, he clenched his fists harder and plopped into the first chair he could find- the head of the household's chair- Sasuke Uchiha's chair. Hmm. What would he say if he came back to find Naruto in his spot? Not that it would have mattered. Sasuke was a modern man; he could work around small traditions such as a specific seat. That wouldn't bother him nearly as much as Naruto would like it to.

* * *

Sasuke slammed the lid of the pot back on. Ugh, how he hated the way Naruto stared after Sakura. Sakura didn't notice though. She had eyes only for her husband, but it didn't matter. It was the principle of the thing: Sakura was his wife and Naruto could not have her.

"What's the matter, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, noticing her brooding husband's mood was definitely darkening. It almost scared her. Sasuke did always have a bit of a temper, and he usually was able to keep it in check, but only God knew how long he could keep everything bottled in.

"What's wrong? Naruto is staring at you like a hungry dog! He looks at you like you're a slab of meat that he can just take. It infuriates me."

"Why?" Sakura, despite her sympathy for her husband's dilemma, couldn't help but swell with pride that she had two men after her, even though she was married and would not do anything against her husband.

"He loves you. That man out there loves you," Sasuke said, throwing an oven mitt dangerously close to the flower vase. Sakura knew he had missed on purpose, not wanting to cause any more trouble then there already was. Sasuke had excellent aim.

"Now, dear, how would you know that?"

"Because he has the same look on his face when he looks at you that I do, and let me assure you, Sakura, I am madly in love with you."

Sakura blushed and looked down at the granite counter, which she suddenly found very interesting. Without any warning, before she could even blink, Sasuke was beside her, his hand under her chin, pulling her up toward his face. With no hesitation, their lips met and they fell into a deep kiss.

* * *

Naruto was getting increasingly impatient. He had absolutely nothing to entertain him. He fidgeted with a small string on the cuff of his suit sleeve. He even traced the intricate patterns on the tablecloth several times.

Finally, he couldn't take it any more. He got up and walked swiftly towards the kitchen. He thought about knocking, but decided against it. Instead, he pushed open the door and strolled in, stopping mid-stride when he saw exactly what it was that was taking so long. However, the couple still seemed oblivious to his presence, so he just stood there, his jaw hanging open. He had never seen Sasuke kiss someone, now that he thought about it (besides that accidental one between them years ago), and he decided that it looked like a professional actor's kiss- like it was staged. Naruto snickered at this, alerting the couple to his company.

Naruto cleared his throat and said through clenched teeth, "Sorry to interrupt, but I was getting impatient."

"No, no. It's perfectly okay," Sasuke said, the classic smirk gracing his features. Now that Naruto had seen that he and Sakura really were in love, maybe he would back off just a little. "We're just getting ready to take the food out. I'm sorry it's taking so long. We were having some issues earlier," Sasuke updated him.

"What kind of issues?" Naruto asked, genuinely intrigued by this new information.

"Those that are not of your concern," Sasuke said through gritted teeth, trying to bite back his new, ever-growing resentment for his old best friend.

* * *

The rest of dinner was awkward, to say the least. The whole night Sasuke glared at Naruto as Naruto stared at Sakura and Sakura attempted to make small talk with the uncooperative men. Occasionally Sasuke would shift his gaze to his wife to be sure she didn't feel left out or neglected and spoke to her in soft, loving tones, but most of the time his gaze was fixed on Naruto. And as for Naruto, he occasionally met Sasuke's piercing gaze, but always shifted back to Sakura, his watery blues eyes eating her up.

Sakura, however, was ultimately getting frustrated. First of all, she now noticed the look that Naruto had been continually giving her, and it made her furious. She was married, for Pete's sake! To add to the frustration, Sasuke, her own husband, would hardly pay her any mind! What was wrong with the two of them? She knew Sasuke was being protective, although he should have trusted her more, and she also knew that Naruto _did _indeed love her, but they were just friends. They should have at least tried to act normal like they wanted to talk to each other.

"Well, it's getting late and I haven't gotten around to finding a hotel yet," Naruto said, stretching his arms above his head as he arched his back, causing it to pop several times. Sakura flinched, and Sasuke moved his hand over to grip hers. Finally, the night was over.

"Well, why don't you stay here with us?" Sakura suggested. Sasuke had to try very hard to keep his jaw shut tightly. He looked at his wife, pleading with his eyes, but he knew it would be rude to withdraw the offer now. He would have to play along and be a good host and husband.

"Yes, we'd be happy to accommodate you for the night," Sasuke said, trying his hardest to sound happy at Sakura's _brilliant_ idea.

"No, I wouldn't want to intrude on you guys. You've already fed me," Naruto countered. He also had to admit that Sasuke was a great chef. That was one of the best meals he had enjoyed in a long while.

Sakura knew Sasuke was about to agree with Naruto's statement, so she squeezed his hand and nudged him gently.

Sasuke took the hint, not wanting to embarrass his wife or himself. "It wouldn't be a problem, Naruto. We always have room for friends."

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, considering the pros and cons of the offer. He would be able to be close to Sakura and be able to keep an eye on the male Uchiha. It seemed like a good deal to Naruto. Besides, he wanted to see the look on Sasuke's face when he stole his wife in his very own home.

"Fine, you've talked me into it," Naruto agreed. Sasuke cursed to himself and Sakura jumped up gleefully.

"Great. I'll go find an empty room for you while Sasuke cleans up. You can go get your things." Sasuke sighed to himself. "Right, Sasuke?" she added sharply, looking at her defeated husband.

"Yeah. You go ahead and I'll clean up." Sasuke gave up. There was no point in having a useless argument with his wife over who was going to put the dirty dishes in the sink.

Obligated to clean up from the large dinner, Sasuke got to work…

* * *

"Thank you, Sakura," Naruto said sweetly, looking around the large guest room. It was larger than his master bedroom back at the estate! He wondered how large the master bedroom here was. It had to be massive- Sasuke only liked the best and the biggest.

"No problem, Naruto. I'm really glad you decided to stay. I'm actually surprised Sasuke let you stay…" Sakura immediately knew that she had said too much, and turned to leave.

"Wait, Sakura. What do you mean? Why wouldn't he want me to stay?" Naruto questioned. He knew perfectly well why, but he wanted to hear it from Sakura, to see the reason Sasuke might have given.

"I don't know. Sasuke's just been acting strange ever since you've gotten here. It's almost like you bring out the old him. Funny, huh?"

Silence grew between them as the two looked at each other. It was an awkward moment, but it didn't feel wrong or anything. Sakura had to admit, the man in front of her was very, very attractive and he seemed sincere enough…

_No, Sakura! Don't think like that! You have a perfect husband waiting for you downstairs. Don't even think of doing anything with someone else! Shame on you! _Sakura thought to herself.

"I should really be helping Sasuke. There were a lot of dishes to get done, and it's not fair to make him do them all. I'll see you later, then, Naruto." Sakura was out the door faster than Naruto thought possible. He hadn't even had a chance to say good night. He couldn't tell if that was a good or bad sign, but he could definitely make a guess that Sakura wanted to be away from him.

* * *

"Sasuke, why don't you give Naruto a break?" Sakura asked later as she dried the dishes that Sasuke was washing.

"Because I don't like it," was Sasuke's frank answer.

"What?"

"Everything: the way he looks at you, the fact that he's staying within walking distance of you. I don't know, just everything." Sasuke cursed as he splashed water on his suit.

"Can you blame him?" Sakura asked, meaning it to be a joke. Sasuke smiled lightly, but stopped scrubbing a beautifully painted plate to look at his pink-haired spouse.

"No, I really can't, can I?" Sasuke said, looking down at Sakura, down into her precious eyes. Sakura blushed and looked down at her perfectly manicured nails, too embarrassed to look at her husband.

"Why do you always do that?" Sasuke asked softly. "I wish you'd look at me instead of being ashamed of what I'm saying." Sasuke started back on the plate, passing it to Sakura to be dried after he'd rinsed it.

"I'm not ashamed! I'm just…. We've already talked about this, Sasuke." Sasuke, however, remained silent. He didn't want to have this conversation; he just wanted to know that he didn't humiliate his wife.

"I'm sorry," Sakura said sadly.

"It's not your fault," Sasuke said automatically. He always took the blame for things like this, just like earlier he thought it had been his fault for making her cry.

"Why do _you_ always do_ that_?" Sakura cried.

"What?" Sasuke asked, swirling clean water around in a bowl.

"Why do you always take the blame, or say it's not my fault? Why can't anything bad happen on my account?" Sakura, drying a dish much more harshly than needed, demanded of her husband. "And why the hell don't you invest in a damn dishwasher?"

Sasuke didn't answer, he couldn't. He had no answer to her questions. Instead, he burst out laughing.

"This isn't funny! Damn it, Sasuke!" Sakura shouted in her husband's face. Sasuke cleared his throat in a feeble attempt to stop laughing.

"You're absolutely right. I'm sorry, love," he apologized.

"You should be!" Sasuke had to cover his mouth to hide his smirk.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. We'll go pick out a dishwasher tomorrow. I've just always enjoyed doing dishes. It makes me feel better when I'm upset. But if you want one, we'll go get one."

"Great! But you haven't answered my other question," Sakura said, much more calmly.

"I do it because I love you and you shouldn't have to take the blame for anything."

"What about this?" Sakura let go of the glass cup in her hands, letting it tumble through the air. Sasuke reached for it, dropping the plate he was washing back into the dirty water, causing it to splash everywhere, but he was too late. The cup hit the floor and shattered into a million sparkling pieces.

"Sakura!" Sasuke bellowed, looking up his wife, who was smirking triumphantly. She had proved her point, but there was a problem: neither of them had on any shoes.

"I'll finish these tomorrow morning. Come here," Sasuke demanded his wife. Sakura timidly stepped forward, wondering what her husband wanted. He couldn't be mad enough to do something he would regret, could he? What if he hit her? Sakura would never have to the guts to run away from him if he did intend to hurt her.

Sasuke, when Sakura was close enough to him, scooped her up into his strong arms. Then, before Sakura could say anything, he started to pick his way out of the maze of glass pieces on the floor, careful not cut his feet. Finally, and without any casualties, Sasuke had them both out of harm's way. He hurriedly put Sakura back on her own feet.

"Where's the damn broom?" he asked angrily, glaring at Sakura, who wouldn't look up at him. "Sakura, look at me!" he thundered. Sakura looked up, afraid once again. "Where is the broom?" he repeated, forcing himself to be calm. Sakura pointed to the broom resting near the door, then ran upstairs.

With a sigh, Sasuke set to work, regretting being so harsh with Sakura. She didn't deserve that, but what she had done was pointless and dangerous.

* * *

Sakura ran straight to her and Sasuke's room. She didn't even both to remove the cherry blossom petals that she had saved for this night especially. It was the night before their first anniversary and she had wanted it to be just as special as the next night was bound to be. Now, though, she just curled up on their bed and sobbed. Not because of Sasuke's mood- well, maybe a little bit- but because of her stupidity. She knew better than to do that.

Several short minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Without any more warning, Sasuke poked his head around the door.

"Are you decent?" he asked, a smile on his gorgeous, pale face.

"Would it matter?" Sakura retorted coolly.

"Probably not," Sasuke said, coming in anyway.

He slowly sat down next to her, breathing in the lovely scent with deep breaths. Sakura said nothing and did nothing. She just sat there, staring down at her husband. His red undershirt had come untucked and he had already stripped himself of his suit jacket. Because of this, the end of his shirt came up, exposing the muscular flesh beneath it. Sasuke didn't seem to notice, but Sakura stared at it so intensely that she was surprised it didn't burn him.

"What?" Sasuke asked, his cheeks starting to turn bright red as his wife scrutinized him.

"Nothing," Sakura said, turning away quickly.

"You were looking at something…" Sasuke was smiling broadly, now knowing that his wife had liked whatever it was that she'd seen.

"I was not," Sakura denied.

"You were too," Sasuke said, sitting up to lean on one elbow and look at his pink-haired beauty more carefully. In doing this, he unconsciously uncovered more of his skin. Sakura, however, noticed and turned a brighter shade of pink. Sasuke cocked his head to the side with a knowing look.

"Okay, okay, you caught me," Sakura said.

"Did you like it?" Sasuke said with a husky, seductive voice. Sakura laughed.

"Should I have?"

"Who could blame you?" Sasuke countered with his own question at her obvious answer. Sakura smiled and Sasuke pulled himself up so that he could kiss her. Sakura didn't protest. In fact, she had been hoping for something like this to happen. The fight had really put her in a foul mood, and she had wondered how exactly Sasuke had been planning to make up for it.

With a kiss… or a bunch of kisses, would be fine with her. It would, however, take a lot before Sakura would forgive him for yelling at her, but at least he was going to try.

"I love you, my little cherry blossom," Sasuke said in his husky voice, leaning over to kiss her ear as he whispered it.

"I love you, my dark-haired raven…"

* * *

Naruto could hear the fight from up in his room, or at least the really loud outbursts, like, "Why do _you_ do _that_?" from Sakura. His curiosity was only flared up more when he heard the shattering of glass. Maybe Sasuke had thrown something in anger- Naruto had known him to do that before. After all, he had one of the worst tempers Naruto had ever seen before. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to steal Sakura away from him after all, with Sasuke possibly hurting her.

Naruto heard his chance when Sakura came balling up the stairs and past the open door of his room. He got off of his bed, looked into the mirror over his dresser to make sure he looked decent, and took a moment to gather his self-esteem. He then made sure to spray at least two times the necessary amount of cologne before stepping out into the hallway. He crept silently to Sakura's bedroom door, making sure Sasuke was nowhere around. But then he started to have doubts. What if Sakura didn't want to see him? What if she was just waiting for Sasuke to come comfort her?

_Or what if she's all alone because Sasuke won't be coming up here to comfort her? He did throw something at her, after all… _Naruto thought to himself. Well, he assumed the last part, not wanting to believe Sakura would be the one to act with such vehement actions. He knew Sakura had a temper equal to or greater than Sasuke's at times, but he wanted to believe that Sasuke had tried to hurt his cherry blossom. It made his mission that much more reasonable and helped shake off some of his slowly sprouting guilt.

While he was reminiscing, Naruto nearly didn't hear Sasuke quickly make his way up the stairs. Cursing himself for his lack of haste and all of his doubts, Naruto quickly dove back into his room, accidentally slamming the door behind him. Flinching, he quickly sprawled out on his bed, so that if anyone entered, he would be able to feint innocence. With a frown, he listened to Sasuke knock on the door and talk to Sakura, and he didn't like what he heard.

Sasuke, on the other hand, ignored the slamming door. It didn't matter to him that Naruto was angry, the jealous bastard. However, when he smelled foreign cologne in front of the door to his bedroom, Sasuke did get suspicious. That was part of the reason he asked if Sakura was decent or not. He shouldn't have worried so much, he knew Sakura better than that, but the question didn't seem to upset her anymore or give away his own suspicions, so Sasuke let it slide. He decided to just forget about Naruto for the rest of the night and work on earning Sakura's forgiveness, although it should have been the other way around. Sasuke wasn't the one who broke the glass in the first place and caused the yelling match, after all.

So, banishing all thoughts of Naruto, Sasuke slipped into his bedroom where Sakura was sitting on the bed, waiting for him….

* * *

**A/N:** I thought Naruto should be the bad guy, just this once. It seems to make for a nice plot, but I am in a bit of a rut. I need help deciding what Naruto should do from there. Oh, and tell me if this chapter is too long. It did get kinda lengthy, huh?

REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!! (You know you want to... )


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Yay! New chapter! No bombing on shortness, because this is what you get, and if you complain about the length, I'll just quit writing. Oh, and the beginning may be kinda crappy, because I didn't really know how to start off. So, enjoy!

* * *

Sasuke felt Sakura making a move to get up from the bed, but she stopped as his hand moved swiftly to grip her wrist. She sighed and lay back down, running a hand through Sasuke's now-flat hair.

"Good morning sunshine!" she said cheerily, seeming to chirp more loudly than a bird, given the hour. Sasuke personally didn't want to move, let alone wake up and go to work. Secretly, he prayed for some reason that he wouldn't have to leave for work. Not only because he wanted to lounge in bed all day for once in his adult life, but also because he didn't want to leave Sakura here alone with Naruto. Sasuke trusted Sakura and everything; she was his wife, he had to trust her, but he _didn't, couldn't,_ and _wouldn't _trust Naruto. God only knew how that man had changed over the years…

"Let me up so that I can make breakfast, dear," Sakura said. Sasuke grinned, one of those smiles that says: "I know something you don't know."

"What?" she asked, gently prying her wrist loose from Sasuke's firm grip, wondering what would make him smile when she was being completely serious.

"That won't be necessary," Sasuke said, still smiling. He hadn't told Sakura yet, but before he'd come upstairs the previous night, he'd called some cleaning agency and hired a maid-nanny-like figure to come and basically live with them, cooking their meals and cleaning.

"Really? And why is that?" Sakura asked, a curious glint in her eyes. Sasuke just smiled. He didn't really want to tell Sakura in fear of her reaction. Would she think he was trying to replace her? That seemed likely to be her first thought.

"I've already told you that you need a break, so I hired someone to cook and clean. You need to take it easy and that isn't going to happen with all the dust that accumulates in this house," Sasuke stated, now looking directly at Sakura, who was in her favorite emerald green robe, which grandly brought out the color of her eyes.

"Why didn't you discuss this with me?" Sakura asked flatly, staring- more like glaring- at her husband, who was sprawled across the bed, looking up at her with deep, black eyes.

"Because I knew you'd never agree," Sasuke said, his voice full of authority.

"Maybe I like doing those things, considering you won't let me have a job and I have nothing else to do all day!"

"Sakura, please. Everyone needs a break once in a while," Sasuke retorted coolly.

"Then where are all of your breaks, Sasuke? Why don't _you_ ever take breaks from work so that we can spend time together, so that we can do things with each other? I'm sick and tired of waking up every day and not seeing you next to me. Today, I woke up early so that _I_ could make you a special breakfast, and now I find out that you've gone behind my back and hired someone to do it for me?!" Sakura cried in frustration.

"Sakura, wait!" Sasuke said as Sakura made a move to turn and leave. "I'll take today off. How's that? I'll- I don't know- I'll call the office and tell them to find a replacement." In his mind, Sasuke was figuring how much money this risky move would cost his entire company, but it didn't matter. He said he'd do it, so he would- well, if Sakura even wanted him home.

Sakura, on the other hand, was mentally thinking about how this move might bring her and Sasuke back together. She perked up as she answered, "Sure. I'm going to get a shower and you take care of whatever it is you need to do." So saying, Sakura stepped lightly into the master bathroom that was attached to their room and closed the door.

Sasuke waited until he heard the shower running before covering his face in his hand and moaning. Just thinking about the millions of dollars they were losing in order to spend a day together made Sasuke feel sick. But what was decided was decided, and he would have to face it sooner or later.

Dragging himself from the bed, Sasuke pulled on his own red robe, which brought out the color of his own eyes. He ran a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes as he did so. Man, this was turning into a mess. Ever since he'd married Sakura, his life had been flipped upside down. He didn't have any second thoughts about taking Sakura's hand in marriage, but it definitely made every aspect of life more complex. He couldn't stay out with friends late at night, he couldn't come home and drink himself into a coma like he'd used to, and he couldn't have anymore peace and quiet at home. Oh, the joys of matrimony!

While thinking about these things, Sasuke made his way to the phone. Swiftly, he picked up the handle and called the office.

"Hello, you have reached Uchiha Inc., how may I help you?" asked Sasuke's very own secretary.

"Good morning, Hinata, this is Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke said, trying to make his voice sound happy despite his mood.

"Oh, Mr. Uchiha, what a surprise! I was expecting to just see you in person this morning. Anyway, what can I do for you, sir?" Hinata replied in her quiet voice.

"Well, I will not be coming into work today, Hinata," Sasuke replied, "so I was calling to ask if you would arrange a few things for me."

"Certainly, Mr. Uchiha."

"First of all, call me Sasuke. Secondly, I would like to move all my scheduled appointments for today to Monday, if you would please," Sasuke said, knowing Hinata really didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Okay…" Hinata answered, sounding very focused. Sasuke heard the clicking of a keyboard over the phone and knew Hinata was already on it.

"One last thing, Hinata," Sasuke said when he heard the typing stop.

"Yes, Sasuke?"

"Would you please remain in charge for today? And keep Kiba away from the coffee- you know how he gets with sugar."

"Certainly, Sasuke," Hinata said, a laugh in her voice. "Is that all?"

"Sure is. Thank you so very much," Sasuke said, realizing he needed to get off the phone. He could hear footsteps coming down the stairs.

"One question, Sasuke?" Hinata said quickly, noticing how urgent Sasuke sounded.

"Yes?"

"Is there a reason for your sudden absence?"

"My wife," Sasuke said plainly.

"Is the baby coming?!" Hinata asked, surprisingly loud with excitement for her soft voice. Sasuke smiled brilliantly, imagining the heads of everyone in the same room as Hinata snapping to attention at the word 'baby.'

"No, not yet. She thinks I need a break," Sasuke replied, feeling his mood lifting. Talking to Hinata always made him feel better.

"Oh." Hinata's voice was fully of understanding and… was it sympathy? "Well, I'll see you Monday, then, Sasuke?"

"Yes, Hinata. Thank you again."

Sasuke had just hung up the phone when he realized that Hinata had said she'd see him _Monday_. It was only Friday! That meant he had a whole weekend off. Silently he fretted about this and thanked Hinata at the same time. Finally, he came to the conclusion that time off would do him good. _God bless you, Hinata_, Sasuke thought, turning to find Sakura looking at him impatiently. Sasuke remained silent, not knowing what she wanted him to say.

"Well?" she finally asked. It was apparent to Sasuke at that instant that Sakura hadn't entirely believed him about taking the day off. She had doubted he'd actually follow through on his promise to her. This made Sasuke slightly angry, but he ignored it, thinking about what Sakura's reaction would be.

"I have until Monday off," he said, shrugging his shoulders. He was, once again, taken by Surprise as Sakura leapt into his arms, embracing the living daylights out of him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.

Naruto, who had cleared his throat, however, startled both of them out of their moment, yet again. Neither had noticed him coming down the stairs. Sasuke immediately put Sakura back onto her feet, and she grabbed his hand in both of hers.

"Good morning, Naruto," both of them said in sync.

Naruto nodded and smiled in Sakura's direction, saying, "Good morning," to her, rather than them both. Sasuke ignored this, and they were all quiet. Sakura could feel the tension in the air, just as thick as it had been at dinner the previous night. Now, though, she could feel the hate emanating from Sasuke and Naruto. Both were after one thing- the same thing, but only one could have it. Sakura knew that Naruto hadn't come back just to see his friends, he had come back for _her_, but Sakura was married now. Naruto had been too late. This war he fought with her husband was a long-lost battle against time itself, and Naruto couldn't win, not if Sakura was loyal. The question was, however: how long could Sakura be loyal if Naruto kept wearing his shirt off? Yes, it was the truth: Naruto had come down the stairs without a shirt on, and had nearly stolen Sakura's breath away.

She had grasped Sasuke's hand for two reasons. One- to remind her that she loved Sasuke very, very much, and he loved her back. And two- to help support her because she thought her knees might give out upon seeing the tanned god descending her stairs. Naruto, in all his beautiful glory, had come down the stairs, his muscles taunt under darkened skin with blonde hair tousled about in great disorder. His teeth flashed perfectly white as his watery blue eyes drew her into their depths. Oh, how she loved those eyes.

Standing next to her though, was the man that made her stomach tie itself in knots every time she saw him, who made her smile every time they kissed, who made her cry in pleasure every time they made love. Beside her was the very opposite of Naruto: dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin.

The vast difference in the appearance of the two visibly mirrored the differences in their personalities: Sasuke the darker, more serious kind, versus Naruto, the bubbly, energetic kid-like adult.

"Breakfast is- oh, is this a bad time?" came a voice from behind Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura jumped, but Sasuke just turned slowly around. Sakura turned around as well, and her blood boiled at the sight. In front of her- and her husband, whose mouth was fighting to stay closed, she knew- was the maid, wearing tight, short, short, _short_ jean shorts and a plaid shirt tied below her breasts, with long, golden hair falling gently over one shoulder. There, the spitting image of Jessica Simpson in _The Dukes of Hazard_, stood Ino.

"Hello, Ino," Naruto said, smiling politely at the woman standing in the doorway between the kitchen and the hall in which they all stood. Naruto seemed to blush a little, which made Sasuke smirk, making his sharp features even sharper. Ino smiled back- more to Sasuke than anyone. "Good morning all: Naruto, Sakura,… Sasuke," Ino said in her beautiful, flowing voice. Sakura cringed. Sasuke noticed this and squeezed her hand gently.

In truth, Sasuke wanted to drool at the sight of Ino, but he knew that would not be very appropriate, considering the fact that he was married and his wife was standing right next to him. _Well_, he thought, _if Sakura can ogle over Naruto without a shirt on, then I can ogle over Ino fully dressed…_

* * *

**A/N: **Dun, dun, dun! Sorry, but I figured this was as good a place as any to stop, so live with it. :P Actually, you're all lucky I was able to write this next chapter this quickly with as limited as my time has been. And yes, it is quite a bit shorter than the first chapter. None of my chapters will probably ever be as long as that first one.

And thank you to all my reviews. Now **_GO REVIEW!!!!! ALL OF YOU!_**


	3. Chapter 3

"I like this one," Sakura stated, pulling open the door to a spacious dishwasher. The whole look of the thing was very modern, and Sakura liked it.

"Sakura, that's the most expensive one in the entire store!" Sasuke pronounced, looking at the large price tag, which was painted red to indicate it was on sale.

"It's on sale, though!" Sakura retorted defensively. She crossed her arms and glared at her husband. Sasuke, however, was just as stubborn and crossed his own arms.

"Are there any _cheaper_ ones you'd like to have?" Sasuke asked.

"Oh, my God! Sasuke, please, you're a bajillionaire, you can afford this dishwasher. What will it hurt?" Sakura argued, seeing than pure force wasn't going to convince her husband.

Sasuke snorted in response, deciding it would better to just shut his mouth. He didn't feel like explaining that this particular dishwasher was about the same amount of money as five of any other brand or style in this overstuffed monster of a store. Besides, he wouldn't be a bajillionaire if Sakura kept having him take time off work, not that Hinata couldn't handle it.

"Besides, you won't have to buy another one if you get a good one now. The other ones are pieces of junk, and this one has a 20 year warranty!" Sakura tried again, desperate now. She was angered by Sasuke's pure stubbornness, but she had to admit to herself that he did make all the money, and the dishwasher was expensive. She looked down at it helplessly, as if hoping it would just follow her home.

"Fine," Sasuke said. Sakura looked up at him, surprised that he had given in with so little effort.

They spent another hour making arrangement for it to be taken to the mansion and installed, Sakura grinning brightly the entire time while Sasuke grudgingly signed agreements and insure policies and God knows what else…

"Thank you so much, Sasuke!" Sakura squealed, enveloping her spouse in a gleeful hug. Sasuke put his arms around Sakura, kissing her gently.

"You deserve it," he answered, a genuine smile on his face- small, but still genuine. "Now, we have some time. That went faster than I though it would. What would you like to do?"

Sakura thought about this for a moment before she sat quietly into the **Bugatti Veyron 16.4(1), Sasuke's car of choice. It was the most expensive ride on the lot, having a price of something over $1,000,000. It was definitely a sharp ride that attracted a lot of attention everywhere they went. Of course, Sasuke didn't just buy it because it was the most expensive- he bought it because it was the best. Sasuke was one of those people who, if they were going to spend their money on something, they were going to spend it on something that was worth it. **

**"Let's go to the park," Sakura finally said, wondering if all of her friends still hung out there. That used to be _the_ place to be. If you couldn't be found at the park, then you were a loser. Except for in Sasuke's case. Sasuke had always avoided the park like a plague, but no one would dare classify him as a loser. He was thought of as too cool to even go to the park- he had his own place where he had to invite people to go. Or that's what everyone always thought. In truth, though, he was always busy studying law or working out in his personal gym. Sakura found this out soon after she and Sasuke started dating.**

**Sasuke sighed. He still didn't like going to the park, but what the hell, why not?**

**---**

**Ino and Naruto both sat at the table, staring down at the designs. Both were silent, thinking. Naruto personally wondered how Ino had become a maid, and if the fact that she was after Sasuke would help him get Sakura.**

**"How's it going with Sakura?" Ino finally asked, glancing up at the brooding blonde. Naruto looked up, startled.**

**"How'd you-" Naruto started asking, stopping when Ino smirked a very beautiful smirk, one that looked exactly like… "So, you're after Sasuke?"**

**Ino's smirk faded in its entirety. "What's it to you, dobe?" she asked. Naruto thought he would shit a brick! Why was Ino acting like this? The smirk and… and _DOBE_. It made Naruto want to throw up. "But you never answered me. How's it going with Sakura?" Ino asked again. Naruto realized that there was a hint of hope strung into her voice.**

**"Not so well. I guess I passed up my opportunity a long time ago," Naruto said, sighing and placing his face in his hands. Ugh, this Sasuke-Sakura thing was really starting to get to him. Maybe he should just give up and go home… go find a wife of his own instead of putting him and his best friend through all of this drama.**

**"Well, just for your information, I am trying to get Sasuke back. Sakura stole him from me," Ino said, clenching her fists in anger.**

**"Sasuke doesn't deserve Sakura…" Naruto said absentmindedly. **

**"Sakura doesn't deserve Sasuke…" Ino said at the same moment.**

**The two suddenly looked at each, new seeds of hope planted in both. They had something in common: They both wanted the Uchihas split up…**

**---**

"Sakura!" someone cried. Sakura spun around to find herself face-to-face with Lee.

"Lee!" Sakura chirped happily, embracing the man, who had also changed quite a bit over the years. He still had his ridiculous eyebrows and haircut, but he'd toned down from the crazy spandex, green suit to a plain pair of jeans and a limey green tee. Definitely toned it down…

"I'll be right back," Sasuke said, starting to walk down the narrow sidewalk towards the place he always used to hang out at when he _did_ come to the park. Truthfully, though, he just wanted to give Sakura and Lee some time alone. Yes, he was protective, but Sakura and Lee were still good friends, and they deserved the time alone. Besides, Lee was a good man, he wouldn't try to steal Sakura away from him, and even if he tried, he wasn't much competition.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned, surprised that someone had talked to him. He had ditched most of his friends a long time ago in order to pursue his goal of jailing Itachi. Most of his old friends were resentful that he had just moved on without them, so it was strange for him to hear anyone say his name besides his wife.

"Shikamaru?" Sasuke said, seeing the other man sitting on a bench next to none other then Chouji. Shikamaru smiled and stood up, but Chouji did not. The bulkier man instead turned his gaze towards the sky. Sasuke didn't have to think very long before realizing Chouji was still mad at him. However, Shikamaru was soon standing next to him. They stared at each other for a moment, seeing how they had each changed, observing things that were the same. Finally, after what seemed to have been five minutes, the two friends embraced.

"God, Shikamaru, it's been so long…" Sasuke said, pulling back to examine his old friend.

"I bet you've been busy," Shikamaru said, looking directly at Sakura, whose pregnant stomach was somewhat visible.

Sasuke nearly smiled, but contented himself with a smirk instead. Shikamaru, however, had no problems smiling.

"So, what have you been up to?" Shikamaru asked, taking a seat next to Chouji, leaving space for Sasuke to sit next to him. The dark-haired man did so.

"You know, the usual. Work, sleep, eat."

Sasuke did not fail to notice the Chouji still hadn't even glanced in his direction.

"Sounds exciting," Shikamaru responded sarcastically.

"You have no idea," Sasuke said, leaning back in his seat. The two were thoughtfully quiet for a moment before Sasuke inquired, "You know Naruto's back in town?"

Shikamaru and Chouji both looked up at him, Shikamaru with surprise, Chouji with suspicion. Sasuke was becoming a little unnerved with Chouji, wondering what all the awkwardness was about. It was obviously more than how Sasuke had treated him in the past.

"When did he get back?" Shikamaru asked. He and Naruto had been good friends, still were. Hell, Shikamaru was everyone's friend.

"Last night."

"And he already drove you out of your own house?" Chouji put in, causing Sasuke's brow to crinkle in frustration and curiosity. Was Chouji really that embittered towards him?

Instead of answering the question, Sasuke took a different approach to his building aggravation.

"Look, Chouji, I don't know why you've got a stick shoved up your ass, but if you have a problem with me, I'd like you to tell me so I can fix it," Sasuke said, forcing himself to sound calmer than he felt. He really just wanted to kick Chouji's teeth down his throat, but that wouldn't be helping the tension between the two, would it?

Chouji just huffed as he got off the bench, and walked away. Sasuke rubbed his temples with his fingertips, wondering why it seemed like everyone was out to get lately.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, I didn't mean to interrupt you and Chouji. I shouldn't have been such a jerk; he has every right to be at me."

"No, not really. You did what you had to at the time to reach your goal, and although it probably wasn't the best thing to do, you're trying to fix it now. Let him go, he'll cool down eventually," Shikamaru comforted. "But, since we're on the topic, what did get you out of the house and away from work?"

"Sakura wanted a dishwasher," Sasuke said. Shikamaru laughed so hard Sasuke thought he would piss himself. "What?" he growled.

"You mean to tell me that you have a mansion, a brand new car, half of all the money in the world, and you didn't have a _dishwasher_?" Shikamaru bellowed. Sasuke smiled.

"Well, I don't know. I guess never thought about getting one. I always used to do dishes by hand. It's kind of relaxing."

"So what you're saying is scraping dried, crusty leftovers off of plates is _relaxing?_"

"Yeah, kind of," Sasuke answered with a laugh.

"You are insane," Shikamaru said, making a swirling gesture with his hand by his head. Apparently that meant _insane_. Sasuke just shrugged off the comment, though. He had been called worse things before- far worse things.

After a while, Shikamaru touched on the topic of Naruto again. "So, why is he back?"

"He says he just wants to see old friends again, but…" Sasuke stopped, not wanting to voice the accusation. Saying it out loud would only make it all the more real and fuel his temper again.

"But…" Shikamaru urged.

"But I really think he's just after Sakura. He ogles after her like she's _his_," Sasuke spat, actually feeling relieved that he could speak his mind without being condescended.

"Hmm," Shikamaru said thoughtfully. He seemed pretty stumped about this himself, and he was usually the one who had all the answers, being a literal genius and all. "I'll think about it for a bit and give you a call, but I've got to go now. It's getting late and I have to go home and cook for my daughter."

"That's right: you're married now. How are things going with Temari?"

"Great, thank you for asking."

"Sure," Sasuke said, shrugging off the thanks. He was glad for Shikamaru. He and Temari were a perfect match, and they were perfectly content with a family of their own.

"See ya, Sasuke," Shikamaru said, giving a little wave.

"You too."

---

"So, how has Shikamaru been?" Sakura asked as both she and Sasuke got back into their flashy car. Sasuke shrugged. Sakura heaved a sigh.

"Well, Lee told me that Tenten, Temari, and Hinata are all going out tonight. He said that I should go. It would be nice to see some of my friends again…" Sakura went on. Sasuke didn't really know what to say. Was she asking his permission or what?

"Sounds like a good time," Sasuke finally came up with a response.

"So you wouldn't mind if I went?" Sakura asked, looking at her husband with wide eyes. Why was she looking at him like that? It wasn't like he could keep her from going even if he had wanted. Actually, it sounded good to him, as well as made him angry. She had made him take the day off so that they could spend time together, not so that she could ditch him. But it didn't matter, Sasuke told himself. Sakura needed the girl time anyway.

"Nope. As long as you want to go, I'm fine with it," Sasuke said. After a while, Sasuke pulled into the massive garage attached to the Uchiha home.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go now," Sakura said, getting out of the car and walking around to the driver's side.

"Now?" Sasuke asked. "But we just got home!"

"I know, but I need to go get a pair of shoes to match this dress I have…"

"Okay, okay. Just be careful. And don't drink too much tonight," Sasuke said, handing her the keys to the car.

"Sure thing," Sakura said, giving Sasuke a chaste kiss on this lips before getting into the car and shutting the door. Sasuke immediately regretted letting Sakura go out to drink. Not only was she very sensitive to alcohol, but she was pregnant, too.

_She'll be fine,_ Sasuke assured himself, wondering if she really would be fine. He certainly hoped so.

---

"Good afternoon, Sasuke," Ino said cheerily as Sasuke stepped through the door. Sasuke had the strange sensation that she had been waiting for him.

"Good afternoon, Ino," he said, taking off his suit jacket and tossing it onto a chair. Ino quickly snatched it from the chair and hung it up. "Thanks," Sasuke said, plopping down onto his expensive leather sofa. Now that he had all this time off, he didn't know what to do with himself. Should he watch TV? Should he take a nap? Should he… Sasuke didn't even know what he _could_ do. He had never really had any free time before, so this was completely new to him.

Sasuke was surprised when Ino sat next to him, but he didn't move away, not wanting to seem rude.

"So, Sasuke," Ino inquired, "how was your day?"

"It was fine, thank you," Sasuke responded, looking down at Ino suspiciously, one eyebrow raised. There had to be something behind this strange front she was putting on. "And how was your day, Ino?" Sasuke asked, once again not wanting to seem rude.

"Oh, you know, boring… lonely," she answered in a soft voice. Sasuke was more than a little surprised when he felt a hand land gently on his knee. "You have no idea how hard it is to spend all day by yourself in this big house," Ino went on. Her forefinger began making tiny circle on his lower thigh. Sasuke didn't like what Ino was doing, but he couldn't say no.

He pressed himself into the couch, trying to escape Ino's touch, as her hand crept just the smallest bit farther up his thigh. Ugh, how he loathed the situation he was in.

Ino, on the other hand, was rather enjoying herself, finding it cute how Sasuke had pressed himself into his soft leather couch… so irresistible… so vulnerable…

Sasuke silently praised God as the telephone rang, and he sprung up from the sofa.

"I'll get it!" he said more loudly than necessary, forcing himself to walk into the kitchen instead of run. He took a few deep breaths before picking up the receiver.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru's voice came from the other end. Sasuke mentally sighed with relief.

"Yeah?" Sasuke asked, looking around the doorway of the kitchen to make sure no one was eavesdropping on him.

"Hey, this is Shikamaru. I just wanted to see if you might like to come over tonight and hang out. Temari is going out, and Raenell is at her sitters."

"Yeah, that sounds great. When should I come over?"

"Um, now, if you'd like," Shikamaru said, noticing the fraught undertone in Sasuke's voice.

"Sure. See you in a few," Sasuke said, hanging up the phone. It took him less than a minute to grab the keys to his Ferrari Enzo(2) and snatch his jacket, and rush out to the car.

---

**A/N:** Okay. Here's chapter 3. I could have added more, but I was tired of writing, so I stopped it. Watch out for the next chapter- should be a lot of drama. Ugh, I don't like drama…. Anyway: REVIEW, ALL OF YOU!

Oh! And the little numbers: (1) & (2), those are cars, and I'm going to try to put up pictures on my profiles, so… yeah, look for that sometime too, or just look them up by yourself. The two most expensive cars in the world, and Sasuke owns them both: P

Once again, REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry about the long wait, and I know thatt his chapter isn't long enough to make up for it, but I really tried, and I know this chapter is kinda crappy. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I just don't have time anymore. :'(

* * *

Ino cursed to herself as Sasuke slipped through the door without another word. How stupid of her! She had jumped the gun with him. Sighing heavily, Ino forced the fact that Sasuke was loyal to Sakura after all into her stubborn brain. Man, this would be so much easier if Sasuke weren't such a good person… if he hadn't changed over the years. Ino knew that the old Sasuke wouldn't have cared about hurting Sakura, about cheating on her.

But that was the fun of the chase, right; having to win over Sasuke's heart would just be more of a challenge, and make Ino's victory that much more sweet for her, and that much more painful for Sakura…

* * *

Naruto, upstairs in his room, was busing himself by getting ready for tonight. He and Ino had come up with a plan, and, unlike Ino, Naruto was still on course. The whole thing was really simple: Sakura went out with Tenten, Temari, and all her other friends and got drunk. Then who would be there to convince her that she should rent a room because God only knew what Sasuke would do if he found out his wife was drunk? Yep, that would be Naruto, and from there, it would all be completely downhill. Actually, he already had the room rented.

There was more to the plan than that, but Naruto was only taking it one step at a time, and right now that included just prepping his nerves for what it was he was doing.

* * *

"Sasuke?"

"That's me," Sasuke answered.

"Gee, that was fast. C'mon in," Shikamaru yelled. Sasuke let himself into the humble home. It was by no means shabby or miniature, but it was definitely a lot smaller then his mansion. Shikamaru did well for himself for being the only working parent in the household.

"Sorry if I came too soon. I just needed to leave for a while."

"Sakura getting on your nerves?" Shikamaru asked, raising an eyebrow as he passed through the living room, an armload of toys in haul. He was obviously cleaning quickly, which surprised Sasuke. Shikamaru had always been the laziest of all the boys, and to see him clean was a rare thing.

"No, Ino was though… Are you cleaning because I was coming over?" Sasuke asked, following Shikamaru down a narrow hallway until he stopped to deposit the toys in, presumably, Raenell's room.

"You wish. I promised Temari I'd pick up today. Well, actually, she threatened to kick my ass if I didn't." Shikamaru shook his head, but he was smiling, telling Sasuke that he didn't really mind.

"Temari's really kicking you into shape, huh?" Sasuke asked, a knowing smirk placed gracefully on his lips.

"Yeah, she sure is, but I'm sure you know all about wives and how they make you work, right?" Shikamaru smiled at him.

"Yeah…"

"So, what were you saying about Ino?" Shikamaru inquired. He and Ino were dating for a while before Shikamaru and Temari had gotten together. He had dumped Ino because she was still infatuated with Sasuke and was using him to make the Uchiha jealous.

Sasuke, before he started to recount his tale, asked, "Do you happen to have any wine?" Shikamaru shook his head. "Vodka?" Sasuke tried. Shikamaru smiled and nodded, causing Sasuke to smile back. How had he known?

"I'll get some, but first, let me ask you something. You didn't cheat on Sakura, did you?"

"Absolutely not; and especially not with Ino. I haven't thought of touching another woman since I started dating Sakura! Ino, though, she was on me like stink on shit!"

"Okay. You can go sit on the couch. I'll be back with that vodka."

* * *

Sakura was having the time of her life. Temari and Tenten really knew how to party, and Lee was a lot of fun, too. Hinata had even shown up, though she came with her boyfriend, Kiba. He was a nice guy, but Sakura thought of him as nothing more than a mere friend. She was not going to even consider him as anything more.

Although Sakura had a great time dancing and talking- regaining the social life she had left behind and not realized she'd missed so badly- everyone except Temari wanted her to drink. Sakura knew better; not only would Sasuke be _furious_, but alcohol caused birth defects, and everyone there knew that.

Sakura was about to give way under the pressure and buy a drink when Temari grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

"Don't drink, Sakura," she said, more of a request than a demand.

"Why not? I haven't been out in a while and-"

"Sakura, please. Not only do you have to drive a two million dollar car home, but also that would be putting yourself and your baby in danger. You don't deserve to be hurt, and neither does Sasuke. If anything ever happened to you, that man would snap. You've kept him together so far, so don't break him now," Temari said, looking away. It took a second for Sakura to register what she was saying, exactly.

"So… Why did you tell me that?" Sakura asked, one elegant eyebrow raised.

"Because, I know what it's like to be a mother, and it's wonderful- hard, but wonderful. I want you and him to be able to experience that together. I think you deserve it, that's all… And there are people that would gladly take advantage of you… if you drank."

"Who would that be?" Sakura was just getting her curiosity boosted by Temari's talk. Who would possibly be so evil as to do something to her while she was under the influence of alcohol?

"Look, all of us were here for a reason. Not just to have fun, but someone paid us. _Naruto _would take advantage of you, Sakura. He didn't just come back into town to see old friends, he came back for _you _and he's determined to get you back. He planned this whole thing, and got people to follow along just by paying for all of the drinks for the whole night. Besides, almost anyone in there would rather help Naruto than Sasuke. Naruto was always a better friend to them."

"I don't believe this!" Sakura fumed. She had no doubt that Temari was telling the truth. For some reason, it was just a feeling that she had- that she could trust Temari, if just this once.

"Well, you should. Naruto always did like you. He never was the type to give up."

"I'm married and I'm _pregnant_! You'd think he'd know that he couldn't have me! You think that he'd realize that… that it's just too late! He missed his chance a long time ago."

"Maybe you should go home and tell Sasuke what's going on," Temari suggested.

"He already knows…" Sakura said, running her hands through her hair.

"And he didn't do anything about it?"

"He wanted to, but I didn't let him. I still wanted Naruto to be our friend, so I told him that everything would be fine. I even invited him to stay in our house. But then Sasuke hired Ino as a maid!"

"He hired Ino!" Temari was starting to get upset with Sasuke and how he was acting towards Sakura. He should have had more concern about his wife and his own temptations.

"Well, not Ino purposely. He hired a maid because he thought I was working too hard and needed a break, and, unfortunately, he happened to hire Ino."

Well, maybe Temari couldn't be mad at Sasuke. He was doing his best, and that seemed to be pretty damn good. It was Naruto that she was furious with. He shouldn't be pursuing Sakura, and especially not in that manner. It was just repulsive. Plus the fact that Naruto had all of his old friends working against Sasuke and Sakura. Well, all of them but Temari and Shikamaru, not that Temari was ever really close to the blonde loser, but Shikamaru and him used to be close, she knew.

"Well, would you like an escort home, or are you going to stay? Naruto will be coming here soon."

"Could I possibly…you know… go to _your_ house for a little while?"

"Of course. You should probably call Sasuke first," Temari said, pulling out her cell phone and offering it to Sakura. Sakura gladly took it, although she had one of her own. She didn't feel like making the extra effort to get her own out. She was too busy wondering what she would tell Sasuke. Also, she was thinking about what she would find when she got home, having left Sasuke and Ino alone together…

"Thanks," Sakura said as she dialed Sasuke's cell number quickly.

* * *

Sasuke was just getting decently drunk when his cell phone went off.

"Who could that be?" he wondered out loud. Sasuke checked the number, but could not recognize it. Maybe his brain was a little addled by the alcohol, but he could swear he had never seen the number before.

"You know this number?" Sasuke asked, handing Shikamaru, who was sitting next to him on the sofa, the phone, which was still ringing a polite tune. Shikamaru was also a little less mentally incapacitated by alcohol.

"Yeah. That's Temari's cell… What's she calling you for?"

"I don't know. Should I answer?" Sasuke asked. Shikamaru nodded and leaned back against the armrest.

"Hello?" Sasuke asked. He had to push the wrong button three times before he finally actually answered the phone.

"Sasuke?" Sakura's voice was a bit worried.

"Yeah. Is this…um…Sakura?"

"Yeah. Honey, I'm coming home soon. Are you still there?"

"Yea- No. I'm at Shika…Shika…" for some reason which Sasuke could not figure out, his words were slurring and he could not pronounce Shikamaru's name properly. "I'm at Temari's," he finally said.

Sakura, however, understood that Sasuke was a little bit drunk and also understood that he had wanted to say Shikamaru's place, but hadn't been able to.

"Well, I'll be over there soon, then, okay? Don't leave."

"I won't. Is…is something wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, I need to talk to you. I'll just be there soon. Let me talk to Shikamaru."

"Okay…" Sasuke handed to phone to his lazy friend. "It's for you," he said, taking another drink of vodka.

"Yeah?" Shikamaru asked.

"Shikamaru? This is Sakura. I just wanted to ask you if you would make sure Sasuke doesn't leave. Temari and I will be there in a couple minutes."

"Sure, Sakura. He couldn't leave even if he wanted to. That shiny Ferrari would be history."

"Thanks, see you soon, then."

* * *

Sakura, feeling oh-so-successful about her phone call and foiling whatever Naruto had had planned, turned to give Temari her phone. As she did so, and as Temari started with their goodbyes, Sakura saw a shock of blonde hair in her peripheral vision slowly approaching her. There was no mistaking it: Naruto was here. Sakura felt her breath hitch in her throat and her stomach twist into knots as the man came closer and closer…

* * *

**A/N**: Yes, yes, short, I know. I told you that at the beginning. And I'm aware of the absurd amount of OOC-ness. I was more than a little bit stuck with this whole entire part, so... just bash Naruto and his evilness in your review, because I already know this chapter sucks. Thanks, and have a nice day! ;


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I don't own that blasted show that I'm so obsessed with…

**A/N:** Yes, it has been several months, and I've got no excuse. But, I did come back with the final chapter (yes, I'm happy that this piece of trash is finally ending as well!), so you should be happy about that, although it's not very long compared to past chapters, and most definitely not the best.

Oh well.

I hope you enjoy the cheesy-McCheese-ness of this whole entire chapter.

- -

Sakura didn't know if she could have been any unluckier if she had tried. She quickly darted off, making sure her head was low. If Naruto even so much as glanced her vibrant pink hair, it would all be over. There would be no hiding then.

Temari had spotted the blonde as well and went along with Sakura, only not ducking. As the pink-haired woman made a made dash for the door, Temari followed behind at a very casual pace, trying not to attract attention.

"Naruto!" Temari cried out in false joy, trying to distract him as Sakura made her way out.

"Hey, Temari. Have you seen Sakura anywhere?" Naruto asked, looking so disappointed that Temari wanted to just tell him exactly where she had gone, but when she thought about her pink-haired friend and her bulging stomach and her raven-haired prince, she immediately felt anger towards Naruto boil up for trying to split the happy couple.

"She left about a half hour ago," Temari said. "She really wasn't here for long at all." She added a shrug for emphasizing purposes, then started to dismiss herself.

"Look, Naruto. I'd love to stick around and chat, but I really need to go pick up Raenell and get home to Shika. He's probably freaking out by now."

Naruto nodded sadly, his expression not changing at all.

"So…um…I'll see ya around, I suppose," Temari said, rushing after Sakura.

Naruto watched her go and looked around for a moment.

"This is hopeless," he finally sighed to himself, taking a seat at the nearest bar next to some weird guy he'd never meant.

"I'll have a bottle of whiskey," he ordered when a pretty girl asked if he'd like something to drink at all.

-

"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed, seeing her handsome hubby drunk out of his mind on the couch, so out of it he was nearly drooling on Shikamaru's shoulder, which his raven head was resting on.

"Oh my God, is he okay?" Temari asked, leading Raenell into their home by her hand.

"Mommy, what's wrong with him?" the young girl asked, tugging on her mother's sleeve.

"He's drunk," Temari stated bluntly.

"Temari!" Shikamaru scolded his wife's straightforward nature.

"Mom, what's drunk?" Raenell asked.

"I'll explain it to you later," Temari said, tugging her daughter down a hallway. "Time for bed right now."

"Well, when you said he was drunk, I didn't think it would be this bad," Sakura said once the child was out of earshot.

"Yeah, well, when I said _drunk_, I meant _drunk_."

"I guess so…"

"I'm not dwnk," Sasuke said, his words slurring so badly Sakura could hardly understand what he was saying.

"Well, thank you for watching him," Sakura teased.

"No problem. Can I tell you something in private quickly, though?" Shikamaru said, standing. Sakura nodded her pink head in approval and followed Shika into the normal-sized kitchen.

"Sakura, no matter what happens, you have to know that Sasuke loves you more than anything." Shikamaru had hardly even turned to face Sakura before he started talking.

Sakura gave Shika a somewhat questioning look, and he shrugged.

"Sasuke spills his guts when he's that drunk," he stated simply.

Sakura smiled slyly, storing this information for later use. Now she knew why Sasuke hardly ever drank anything.

A very, very unpleasant noise caused the two to rush back out into the living room, where they were greeted with the sight of Sasuke keeled over, looking even more pale than usual with a disgusted look on his face. Though Sakura and Shika both knew exactly what had happened before they'd gotten out here, they were still revolted and slightly surprised to see the puddle of vomit at Sasuke's feet.

"Well, isn't that wonderful?" Shikamaru said in false anger and much sarcasm dripping from his words like venom, although he did mutter something about 'troublesome' under his breath. "He drinks all of our alcohol, then he just barfs it back up."

"Ugh, Shikamaru, I'm so, so sorry! I'll clean it up!" Sakura bustled off to get the necessary cleaning supplies, leaving Shika there to stare at the foul-smelling puddle of God-knows-what.

"I suppose I'll take you to the bathroom, then," Shikamaru said more to himself than to anyone, considering anything over two syllables long was too much for Sasuke to comprehend at the moment. Being extremely careful to avoid the potentially dangerous puddle of mixed alcohol, Shikamaru got his friend off of the couch, which was very difficult to do, with Sasuke having to hold his stomach and being too drunk to walk properly.

Shika heaved a dramatic sigh and dragged- literally, dragged- Sasuke to the bathroom, where he made sure Sasuke would have easy access to the toilet. He got there just in time too, because as soon as Sasuke was in, he was on his knees, head buried in the gleaming white bowl 'o piss.

Shikamaru stood there for moral support, but had to look away and completely block out the noise, being slightly squeamish.

"This is going to be a long night…" Shikamaru whispered. And so right he was.

-

"Where the hell were you?" Ino said, looking at Naruto in disbelief. He should have been back an hour ago, Sakura in tow.

"At the bar," Naruto said, his breath reeking of alcohol, though he couldn't have been too drunk, considering he made it home okay.

"I noticed," Ino said, holding her nose with one hand and waving away the stench with the other.

"Where is Sakura?" she asked in a nasally voice, still attempting to block the pungent smell from getting inside her nose.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know?'"

"I mean _I. Do. Not. Know,_" Naruto said, starting to get slightly irritated with the other blonde.

"Naruto, what happened to the plan?"

"I quit. I give up," Naruto spat. He pulled off his coat and tossed in onto the couch as he sat heavily in a poofy, red chair, not caring that Ino was practically having a panic attack.

"Naruto! You can_not_ quit! Oh, this is bad… We just have to-"

"Ino, I quit. It's time to move on. Sasuke and Sakura don't deserve this. We need to just move on and find our own families. I'm sick of chasing after Sakura. It's not worth it anymore, because even if we do manage to split them up, they won't ever love us like they did each other. It's time to let it go."

"No. No, no, no. Don't quit on me now, Naruto," Ino pleaded. She knew that what he was saying was completely true, and she would have to face it sooner or later, but it just hadn't processed yet. "We're so close!"

"Ino, please, don't do this. Just drop it."

"Just drop it? Just drop it? How can you even say that? This is my dream, Naruto. This mansion should have been mine, that car, those clothes, that baby- all of it should have been mine! Sakura stole it from me!"

"Ino, she didn't steal anything. Sasuke picked her, she picked Sasuke."

"But… But..."

"Let it-"

"I can't, okay! I just… I can't…" Ino lost it. Tears spilled over and ran down her beautiful cheeks, which were now red with a bit of a flush.

Naruto stood and walked over to Ino, who he wrapped his long, tan, muscled arms around.

"Shh, it's going to be okay. You're going to be just fine, Ino. Everything will work out," Naruto whispered. Ino ignored his putrid breath and took in his words of comfort, absorbing them like a deflated sponge.

"How do you know?" Ino sniffled. "How do you know everything will be alright?"

"Because we'll stick together, Ino. We may not have Sasuke and Sakura, but we have each other." Naruto gave her a dazzling smile.

"Yeah? You really think so?" Ino smiled back, her eyes puffy and swollen, but still pretty. Naruto felt kind of taken aback. When had Ino become so beautiful? Why hadn't he ever noticed before now?

"I know so," Naruto said, embracing the fragile blonde in his arms. Ino slowly, tentatively, snaked her arms around Naruto and gently squeezed him back. To Naruto, just the comfort he felt was nice, just being in someone's embrace, whether it was Sakura's or not, was wonderful. Ino, too, felt comforted and safe in Naruto's arms. They had just been so absorbed in what Sasuke and Sakura were doing that they had never noticed each other as anything more than mutual friends.

-

"Everybody smile!" the nurse said enthusiastically. The whole gang smiled and made silly faces, all except for three: Sasuke, Sakura, and the brand new baby boy that she supported in her arms. While everyone else crowded around the three and posed for the camera, the little group was in a world all its own. Sasuke and Sakura were both looking down at the baby with overwhelming affection very apparent in their eyes. The second photo the nurse took had Sasuke and Sakura looking at each other with so much love visible that everyone in the room had turned away, feeling like they were invading an intimate moment.

The final picture was of everyone- excluding the newborn baby- having their arms draped over someone's shoulders. Kiba's arms hung over Chouji and Shika's shoulders, and Shika's arms were draped over Temari and Naruto's shoulders, whose arms were draped over Sasuke and Hinata's shoulders… everyone was connected somehow. Sasuke just held his son's hand while Naruto- the godfather- slumped an arm around his shoulders and Sasuke returned the gesture.

However, it was only revealed later, when the photos were developed, that Sasuke had actually been crying. For the first time since anyone could remember, Sasuke had cried. He hadn't even cried at the wedding, not a single tear shed.

"Congrats, Sasuke," Naruto said when all the pictures were done, giving his old friend a pat on the back.

"You too. I heart Ino was pregnant," Sasuke said, unable to keep himself from beaming radiantly. Hell, who needed lights when Sasuke smiled? It was blinding in itself.

"Yep."

"Boy or girl?"

"Don't know. Want it to be a surprise, just like Aito here was. Isn't that right, Aito?" Naruto cooed at the baby that seemingly smiled up at him.

"What does Aito mean, anyway?" he asked the young Uchiha, who was smiling fondly at his new family member.

"It means affection," Sasuke answered, and he could feel the tears burning the backs of his eyes again as he gazed upon his son. God, he was a father… It was something he would never be used to, and he knew it as he looked upon his child, which- thank the good Lord- had a slight patch of dark hair (pink would've been a curse to the boy), emerald green eyes, and a beautifully pale complexion.

"God, nine months of hell done with, only 18 more years to go," Sakura said. Everybody laughed, even Sasuke, who couldn't help himself because he, more than anyone, knew how true that really was.

"C'mon everyone, let's leave the family with some quality time," said Shikamaru and Temari, ushering out all of guests after they all congratulated Sasuke and Sakura and said hello and goodbye to Aito. They had been through the same thing, and they knew that Sakura and Sasuke would want some alone time with their new child.

"Party at Shikamaru's!" the young family in the hospital room could hear Kiba say, and a loud cheer surrounded as Shikamaru mumbled, "So troublesome," under his breath…

"You know, as long as we have each other, nothing else matters," Sasuke told his family as all of their old and new friends migrated over to the Nara household.

-

End 

-

**A/N:** Yeah, kind of an abrupt ending, I know, but I didn't want to drag it out too long, and it's been so long since I've written a new chapter I forgot all the ideas I had. So, this is the end. As crappy as it was, I hope you enjoyed the trials of Sasuke and Sakura's relationship and the cheesy-cheese-muffin-ness of Naruto and Ino's. Originally, I was going to have Naruto and Hinata hook up, but then I thought: 'I would have to make it longer, hence more boring,' and I really didn't feel like doing that. So, as cheesy and terrible as it was, I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. Oh, and there's a difference between your thoughts and flames. I don't like flames, and if you want a long rant about my view on them, see my profile.

REVIEW!!

Oh, and just so you know, I've had this ready to go for about 3 weeks now, but FF wouldn't let me upload it. So blame it partcially, okay?


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